c'mon friday!!

You're so close I can taste you...

hunter, look what someone did to your car this morning!

wipe that smile off your face

While walking down from the train platform today, some man was whistling. Yes, WHISTLING. Someone needs to tell him it's 7:45 a.m. on a Thursday, not 5 p.m. Friday. And even then, I'm not sure if the whistling is appropriate. 

the lincoln lawyer

Remember that summer where Matthew McCounaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lance Armstrong all decided to ride bikes together with their shirts off? Well, that's the summer I decided I would stop watching Matthew McCounaughey movies. I'm all up for some sweet eye candy, but I think he's far too pompous and tries too hard to rock the bohemian California attitude...Dude. Besides, his nephew's name is Miller Lyte and I'm obvi a Bud Light girl.

I've been boycotting this worm for over six years. BUT, Monday night  I ended my streak. 

Hunter had the violent flu Sunday and Monday. I've never seen someone get completely served by the flu like this before! So, Monday night when he was finally able to sit upright, Hunter wanted to watch a movie. I said I'd watch anything and he picked the Lincoln Lawyer. I was about to refuse, but had flashbacks of how much pain he'd been in for the last 24 hours and put my bossiness aside. It was tough.  :)

This movie was great, granted I had zero expectations. But I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I never looked at the clock, time went by so fast! I'm always trying to predict what's going to happen next and how it ends, so I really enjoy a movie that throws me for a loop and this did just that. Also, McShirtless was only shirtless once, which I didn't mind. :)

I give the Lincoln Lawyer a Dean's List B+. WGN news in the morning? Anyone? Bueller? Ok, no. 

throwback photo

I have this obsession with organizing my dresser lately. Mostly because it's somehow always a complete disaster - it's the only space that's 'my own' in the entire apartment. While cleaning out a few drawers tonight, I came across some old photos from really random times in my life. After laughing my a$$ off, I decided to put a few aside to post every now and then. Here's the first! 

I believe this is sophomore year in Marycrest???

cabin fever roll

I had a serious case of cabin fever last night so Hunter and I decided to go out to dinner and try a new sushi place his coworkers recommended. We went to Mirai Sushi on Division and Damen and it was delicious! I was a little nervous when we walked in (at 5:45 p.m.) and all but three tables were reserved. But they sat us in a wonderful location where we could see the open kitchen with the sushi chefs making our sushi.

We started with tempura peppers - they we're really good and the peppers tested so nice and fresh. I also appreciate anything I can smother in soy sauce:) We then had a veggie sushi roll for Hunter and I tried a tuna-salmon roll and a spicy octopus roll. The sever was elated that I ordered the octopus roll and I quickly found out why: It was probably one of the best rolls I've ever had. From the fish to the rice to the delicate unagi sauce - it was perfect. The tuna-salmon roll had a wonderful creamy wasabi sauce that I'm going to attempt to make this weekend! 

All-in-all, it was a great cure for cabin fever! 

awkward

When a coworker sits next to me on the train in the morning...

vegan/veggie week 2

I want this. So.so.so badly. Weirdly, red meat is the only meat I'm craving. I could do without turkey, chicken and pork. But I want a juicy, rare steak. With a ton of salt on it. Right this minute. I've also been craving chocolate in the afternoons, but haven't caved! 

Week one I had very little energy. The afternoons were painful to get through and coming home, it was nearly impossible not to go to sleep at 7 p.m. But yesterday I was on fire! Hunter had to cover my mouth and close my eyes for me because I wouldn't stop chatting when we were going to sleep. Hopefully this energy continues! 

veganuary

Well, I've officially been a vegetarian for one full week! Not that hard to pass up meat, you say? I agree. But being a healthy vegetarian isn't exactly easy. In theory I could be eating an all-cheese and veggie Domino's pizza every night, but that's not the point of this month-long exercise.

why vegetarian?

Hunter and I love watching documentaries. Someone at work told him about an interesting one on the vegan lifestyle so we gave it a try and it really hit home and made us think about our our everyday habits. This was a few weeks before Christmas so we thought it would be a fun challenge to spend all of January meat free. Hunter is completely meat and dairy free (vegan). I'm spending 90% of my day vegan, but every now and then I'll have cottage cheese or shrimp. We spent all day New Year's Day watching even more vegan documentaries to gear us up! I even burned my bra! Jk...

This challenge also goes along with my preparation for turning 30 fit and healthy!

trials and tribulations

There haven't been many! I've actually found this past week to be incredibly fulfilling and easy for the most part. The only challenge is prep. You have to make lunch the night before and fully plan out a week's worth of meals. This is totally new to Hunter and I, however I'm pretty sure most people already do this!

The one thing I have had a hard time with is beans. I like green beans, but I really don't enjoy black beans and all the others and they are in almost every recipe we cook. But, that's the whole point of this challenge: Trying something new. So I'm eating them occasionally and they do fill you up! 

what I've loved
My body feels so healthy. If you know me, I always have a stomach ache after eating. Always. After eating basically anything. But this past week has been flawless. Yay! 

what I ate today

Breakfast: plain oatmeal with raisins and a packet of Truvia

Lunch: Sandwich: Ezekiel bread with dairy-free cream cheese, baby spinach and sliced grape tomatoes

Snack: Carrots and hummus

Dinner: Seared Portabella mushrooms in a garlic bbq glaze

Dessert: Granola

my goal

I know this won't be a lifelong change. I will go back to eating meat and dairy, but I would like to develop some of these changes into lifelong habits. Eating fresh, unprocessed foods - I hope - will be a major priority for us moving forward. 

We'll see if I'm in the same spirit next week!

moroccan oil

Have you tried this yet? My mother-in-law gave me Moroccan oil shampoo, conditioner and oil for Christmas and I am hooked! I've been using it since Christmas Day and can definitely see and feel a difference. I highly recommend spending the extra bucks for this. 

counting UP to 30

Three-hundred and nine. That's how many days left until my 30th birthday. I spent the backend of my 20s fearing this birthday. You can act like an ass in your 20s and get away with it, but once you're 30 it's game over. And I think most of my friends agree, I act like an idiot... kind of a lot:) 

But I've decided to change my approach. I'm no longer fearing 30, I'm spending the next 309 days preparing for 30 so when it gets here, I can enjoy and embrace it. I went to Oak Brook on Saturday and spent some serious cash on age prevention products, I'm (re)joining my gym and I'm in the process of changing my eating and drinking habits. I'm determined to spend my 30th birthday in a cute dress and feeling good about my self - I'm really to roll! 

square one my slate is clear

I feel like more and more often, I find myself waking up and saying I need to do more to make myself happy and achieve the goals I have. I say that "Starting Monday" I'm going to make changes and keep up with my goals. Well, I think I've said that every week for five years. A short while ago I realized there's no need to wait for Monday, or your birthday or New Years. Any day is a good day to take more control of your life.

Square One comes from one of my favorite Tom Petty songs. The past five years have been filled with sadness, happiness, chaos, fear and laughter. Anytime I felt overwhelmed I would listen to this song and dream of just starting at Square One. Well, I feel like I've finally reached my Square One and I've never been happier.

welcome to my very first blog

Why blog? Life goes by so fast. I have so many blessings. But when I look back over the months and years, it's so hard to stroll down memory lane when I can't remember anything that happened! I'm hoping this will help. 

Also, when I was little, I watched every single Doogie Howser, M.D., episode ever aired and dreamed of keeping a journal on a sweet Mac. Well, I don't have a Mac, I have a Gateway from 2006. Is Gateway even around anymore? And I'm not a doctor, but I'm practically a doctor since I'm a publishing editor for the health care industry. Clearly I can perform brain surgery, duh, I read about it.